The timberwolf jumped in between the crusaders and the attacking bullies, taking a defensive position but making no move to attack.The two earth ponies squeaked in fright and ran away from the vicious wolf. She snarled and growled. Katie was debating to herself whether to chase the fillies or not. Likely if she did, it would be bad news for Sweetie Belle, getting bucked in the face by an earth pony of any size can be devastating. She sighed and turned to the concerned fillies. She looked first at Scootaloo and then at Applebloom to make sure they weren't hurt too, and then her attention turned to Sweetie Belle, who had fallen unconscious on the ground. Some blood trickled down from above her eye and the area around and above her eye had already begun to swell. The best case scenario would be one doozy of a black eye, the worst...Katie forced herself not to think about it. Katie pushed her way through the other two fillies to try and pick up Sweetie Belle, Sweetie's best chance of survival was to get her back to Rarity's boutique as fast as possible.
It was about now that the other two fillies got over their shock. Applebloom took up the offensive first. She shouted at the wolf and attempted to scare it away from Sweetie Belle. Katie, of course, was not just some random animal; and so didn't see her as a threat. Applebloom was plenty small enough for the strong creature to gently push away anyway.
"Go away! I won't let you eat my friend!" Scootaloo yelled. The wolf stepped back a little and whined sadly. She understood their fear, but she couldn't reveal herself now. Someday, maybe. She tilted her head and nuzzled Scootaloo. Being nuzzled by a wooden wolf was not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it got the point across.
"Maybe she wants to help Scoots." Applebloom said. "Is that what you're trying to do?"
The wolf nodded. The other two fillies still looked unsure. They let her pass but they didn't stop watching her for a second. They helped to get Sweetie Belle on Katie's back.
"I guess I should thank you then. To be fair, timberwolves aren't usually known for being nice to ponies." Scootaloo said shyly. "Follow us, we know where she lives."
Katie didn't move quickly. Since Sweetie Belle was unconscious, she couldn't balance herself. So she had to make sure to move slower to keep from dropping the filly. Applebloom trotted alongside Katie to help Sweetie hold on, while Scootaloo led the way on her scooter. After what felt like an eternity of walking and constantly readjusting the filly on her back, they finally came up on the Carousel Boutique. Rarity was out front sweeping the porch, so she saw them as they approached. Her mouth gaped in shock. She ran right over to meet them, barely even noticing the wolf at first.
"Oh my gosh, Sweetie Belle!" She squealed, "What happened?"
"She got bucked in the face by Silver Spoon! We thought we could take 'em, but we couldn't. We would have been toast, but then this timberwolf showed up and saved all out hides!" said Scootaloo.
"She really scared the pants off em!" Applebloom added.
Rarity's eyes welled with tears. She looked up at Katie and recognition sparked in her mind. Rarity and the other elements were the only ones other than Discord and the princesses who knew about her powers. She spent so much time with Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy specifically, that those three could recognize her easily in any form. Rarity led the wolf inside and helped get Sweetie Belle onto the couch. She sent Applebloom into the kitchen to get a cold cloth and sent Scootaloo to go and get Fluttershy. Only when they had both left did Rarity speak to Katie. Well she didn't speak at first, but rather she lunged forward and gave the wooden canine a big hug.
"Thank you so much, Katrina, for standing up for my little sister. I hate to think what would have happened had you not been around."
Katie flashed back into a pegasus. "I'm just glad that I was close by and heard them fighting."
Rarity sniffed and adjusted Sweetie's mane so it wasn't in her eyes. Applebloom came back with the cold cloth and placed it on her head.
"Hey, where'd that timberwolf go?" Applebloom asked.
"She had to go back to the forest. I saw her leave on my way to the schoolhouse and came in to see if everything was alright." Katie said, coming up with a cover on the spot.
Scootaloo and Fluttershy galloped into the building and the yellow pegasus began to examine the filly.
"You should have seen it, Katie! It was huge! Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were so scared!" Scootaloo laughed.
"How is she Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.
"It's not as bad as it looks. I think she'll make a fully recovery. When she wakes up, have her drink plenty of water and look out for signs of concussion." Fluttershy said softly.
"Thank you, I'll make sure that happens. I'll keep you in the loop too, so you know if anything changes.."
"Scootaloo told me about that wolf. I would have been so scared. I'm glad we were lucky enough for her to be around." Fluttershy secretly smiled to Katie and left the boutique.
"I swear, if I ever get my hooves on those fillies!" Rarity growled, "They are SO going to regret it."
"Believe me Rarity, I'm sure they won't have the guts to try something like that for a long time. And if they do, I betcha that wolf will show up again and again, until they give it up." Katie said. She looked at the other two crusaders who were yawning but trying to stay awake, for the sake of their friend. Due to the amount of time it had taken to get to Rarity's when they had to move so slow, the sun was already starting to go down. "I should probably get this two fillies home, do you want me to come back after?"
"I'll be okay. Thanks anyway, dear."
"No problem, it's what friends are for." She patted Rarity on the back and gathered up Applebloom and Scootaloo. The fillies didn't want to leave but they understood that Rarity probably needed some alone time. The trio walked in silence to Sweet Apple Acres. There wasn't much to say. They were grateful the wolf had turned up but nothing explained what the wolf was doing around in the first place, or why it had stepped in. They reached the Apple's home and dropped off Applebloom there. Scootaloo and Katie walked back to Ponyville park and sat down on a bench.
"So where do you usually stay, Scoots?"
"Around. I usually sleep here in the park, but when it's cold I go and sleep in the clubhouse." The filly sighed and looked at her hooves sadly. "You made a really great mom-for-a-day."
"Thanks, Scootaloo. That means a lot to me to hear you say that." Katie couldn't help but feel attached to the filly. She reminded Katie a lot of herself. All alone, but trying to be strong for her friends. "I tell you what, how about you come and stay with me, at the very least for tonight. This ordeal is bound to have stressed you out a bit and I just don't feel right letting you sleep in the park. Besides, my place had plenty of space in it for you to borrow a room, and I'm sure my coltfriend won't mind."
"You mean it? Could I really stay with you for tonight?" The filly said hopefully.
"Of course I mean it, you could stay for a hundred nights if you really wanted. Just one thing though..."
"What?"
"My coltfriend is lot different from anypony I'm willing to bet you've met before. A lot of ponies judge him by that and they end up getting the wrong impression. He isn't mean, and he would never try to hurt you. He likes to pull pranks, but he means well. The girls have all met him and they can tell you the same. Just don't judge him before you know him, ok?"
"I like to pull pranks and stuff like that too. So who knows, maybe we'll get along!" Scootaloo said.
"You just might! It's getting dark, though, so stay close to me, it's easy to get lost in the Everfree."
"You live in the Everfree? Cool!" The filly laughed, "You must be super brave!"
"Not really, I spent a lot of time in forests before I even knew what the Everfree was. You get used to it."
The two of them journeyed into the Everfree forest together. Scootaloo never strayed from Katie's side. She may have pretended she was brave but the Everfree Forest at night was even enough to scare Katie sometimes so it was understandable that she was afraid. Once or twice, she thought she saw glowing eyes coming from the trees. But the eyes never stayed long. When ever Katie saw them she would let out a low hiss or growl, or this sort of clicking noise and whatever had been watching them would slip away. Soon they came to where a massive rainbow was sprouting from the ground, acting as a bridge to the castle above. Scootaloo had seen this bridge from Ponyville lots of times but she never dared to venture far enough into the forest to check it out. Katie started to walk up the bridge and turned to make sure the filly was still following. Scootaloo was looking at the base of the bridge deciding whether it was a good idea to step on it or not.
"It's okay, it's actually pretty darn stable so you're perfectly safe."
Scootaloo cautiously placed one hoof on the rainbow. When her hoof stayed firm instead of falling through, she figured it was in fact safe and followed Katie up it. Scootaloo had never seen a cooler looking castle. The place looked like it was in constant party mode and the cotton candy cloud squished under her hooves.
"Is this... cotton candy?"
"Yep, it is!"
"Cool..."
Katie pushed open the door and led Scootaloo inside. "Honey? Are you home?" She called.
"I'll be right with you!" A voice sang from another room. Scootaloo was stunned by the sheer size of the place. How did it get bigger on the inside? The decoration on the inside was just as crazy and random as the outside, but somehow it went together well and actually looked pretty good.
Discord swooped in from the next room over and greeted Katie with a big hug. "As usual it was a total bore," he said rolling his eyes,"Luckily I don't have to attend very often."
"Discord, I hope you don't mind, but this little filly has nowhere to stay and I didn't have the heart to make her stay in the park. I figured that she could maybe borrow one of our spare rooms, at least for tonight."
Scootaloo had always been told it was rude to stare, but when Katie had said that her coltfriend was different she didn't think she meant that different. He reminded her of a field trip she went on once, she couldn't quite place why. She didn't want to make a bad impression though, so she found something else to be interested in, which wasn't hard.
"I don't mind, Katie. As long as she's okay with staying here. It might be fun to have a filly running around."
Scootaloo jumped for joy. She ran up and shook his paw. "Thanks for letting me stay, I really wasn't looking forward to sleeping in the park again. I'm Scootaloo by the way!" She said happily.
"Nice to meet you Scootaloo, I am known simply as DISCORD MASTER OF ALL THINGS AWESOME AND UNDENIABLY BEST PONY!!!"
"No you're not." Katie laughed.
"I can be 'Discord master of all things awesome and undeniably best pony' if I want to." He pretended to pout."Now who's hungry? I was just about to whip something up!"
Scootaloo's stomach growled noisily.
"I hear you loud and clear!' He said. Discord snapped and they were all in the dining room. The table set itself and their glasses filled themselves with chocolate milk. "Now let's see... what are you girls hungry for? I could go for pancakes personally."
Scootaloo tilted her head, confused."Pancakes for dinner?"
"Sure! Why not?" Discord said, "Once you've been around as long as I have, you come to realize that make sense really isn't any fun at all."
Scootaloo thought about this and figured that he was probably right. What fun is making sense all the time? After all, a lot of the things she and the crusaders tried didn't make much sense, but they had the time of their lives at it. If it's fun, and nopony's getting hurt by it, does it really have to make sense?
"Pancakes works for me! I haven't had them in ages anyway!"
"Works for me too." Katie said.
"Pancakes it is! With maple syrup and applesauce and chocolate chips and marshmallows!" Discord waved his claw and in seconds, every plate was stacked high with pancakes covered in toppings and he pulled a bottle of maple syrup out of thin air. The pancakes were delicious, the most delicious anything she had ever had, Scootaloo gladly ate her fill. Once they had eaten, Discord began to show off a few new tricks he had thought up out of the blue. Including something he had been messing with recently that involved expertly balancing crystal balls, as if gravity simply had no effect. For added fun he made them randomly flash and change color so create a laser light show in his hands. As amazed and excited as she was though, Scootaloo found the the long day paired with her full stomach made her very sleepy. She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"I think it's time for little fillies to go to bed." Katie said softly.
Discord chuckled under his breath,"I think you're right."
"Are you kidding?" Said Scootaloo,"I'm not even a little bit tired." She proved her point by yawning again.
Katie went over and helped the filly out of her chair. "Come on, let's get you to bed. You still have school tomorrow."
"Maybe I'm just a little tired..." She yawned.
Katie walked the sleepy pegasus up the stairs to one of the spare bedrooms near hers. She brushed through her hair and tucked her into the bed. The filly sighed in comfort and snuggled in the warm blankets. Katie turned to leave the room.
"G'night, mom." The filly mumbled.
"What was that?" Katie asked, she didn't quite catch what Scootaloo had said the first time.
"I said good night, Ms. Katie." The pegasus adjusted.
"Good night Scoots. I'll see you tomorrow. And you don't need to use the 'Ms.' just Katie is fine, really."
Katie blew out the candle that lit the room and walked back to her own. Discord popped in to say goodnight to her and when I say popped, I mean literally, it made a sound.
"You are so adorable, you know that?" He said fondly.
"Am I now?" Katie sat down on her bed and ran a brush through her hair.
"Yes, you are. I see what Bane meant when he got upset about you bringing in strays. I don't mind it personally, she's a sweet little filly, a little extra company is never a bad thing. But if I didn't know any better, I would say that you've taken a shine to her."
"So what if I have?" Katie raised one eyebrow at him.
"I rather like her, too. I don't blame you, not even a little bit for wanting a filly of our own. Especially since, we aren't really genetically compatible, being different species." Discord sat next to her on the bed and put his paw on her hoof "I know what you're thinking though, and the answer is yes."
"What is it you think i'm thinking?"
"I wouldn't mind adopting."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Wanting to have your own filly or colt is perfectly reasonable. We have a home, the means to feed them, a caring mare to make sure I don't make a foal of myself; we're in the right position to adopt if that's what you want to do. To be perfectly honest, Katie, I've been thinking about it too, and for what it's worth, I think you'd make an awesome mom. Besides, having a filly around is bound to be fun huh?"
Katie smiled. That's right, they could adopt her! They could adopt Scootaloo. Katie remembered what she promised Discord that morning and gave him a big kiss. "I promised you the other half." She said, smiling. "And you would make an awesome dad, too."
Discord hugged her and poofed out of the room leaving her to her thoughts. Katie curled up under her blankets and sighed. It was true, she had become wonderfully attached to the filly. It certainly hadn't taken long. Tomorrow she would think on it some more and then she would ask Scootaloo what she thought. Hopefully, the filly liked her too. Katie yawned and fell quickly asleep.
Author's note:
Hi guys! I hope you are still liking the story so far! The next couple of chapters are going to be coming out very soon!
I hope Scootaloo say yes to being adopted! That would be so awesome, and I could throw them a HUGE party!
Ahem...
Oops, fourth wall, my bad. Carry on.
You probably noticed that I have not gone into a lot of detail about what the castle looks like nowadays. Basically imagine the biggest, fanciest, funnest, most amazing castle ever, make it bigger on the inside than the outside, make it 300% cooler than it already is, give it an indoor pool, imagine what happen if you let Discord loose in it for a month or so with full reign, and you have Windcroft Castle.
umm, Whovian?
Yes Pinkie?
I just got a combo! Twitchy tail, creaky knee, blinkie eye, floppy ear!
What does that one mean?
I don't know! That ones new, but whatever it means...it involves a bear on a pogostick!!
Seriously?
Either that or some rabbits. Sometimes it's hard to tell...
Pinkie will be Pinkie.
<3<3<3 WhovianPony